This video shows the moment that the ex-boyfriend of TOWIE star Ferne McCann squirted acid in a crowded nightclub, injuring more than 20 people.

Arthur Collins, 25, partially blinded two people and left 20 others badly burnt when the corrosive substance was thrown at Mangle nightclub in Hackney, London, on April 27 this year.

Police have described the attack as a barbaric and cowardly act.

Collins – who became a father when Miss McCann gave birth earlier this month – was convicted of five counts of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and nine counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Wood Green Crown Court earlier today.

Arthur Collins fathered a baby born earlier this month to Ferne McCann

He will be sentenced on Tuesday, December 19 at the same court.

Co-defendant Andre Phoenix was found not guilty of all charges by the jury after three days of deliberation. He was acquitted of four counts of grievous bodily harm and two of actual bodily harm.

The footage then shows Collins throwing the corrosive substance twice more as the dancefloor clears.

A total of 22 people reported injuries to police - of whom 16 suffered serious burn injuries after police were called to Mangle nightclub in Warburton Road in Hackney, at around 1.15am on Monday, April 17.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident there were fears that the eye injuries of three of the victims were so severe that their vision could be permanently affected.

The nightclub at 12.04am

Fortunately this proved not to be the case - although one of these victims did tell the court that he still suffers blurred vision in one of his eyes.

The court heard that Collins got into an altercation with a group of men on the dancefloor at the club just before 1am.

Collins was captured on CCTV grabbing a bottle containing the noxious substance from the back pocket of an unidentified man, and forcefully throwing the substance towards the face of one of the men he was arguing with, with no regard for other party-goers standing in close proximity.

As this first man dropped down to the floor in pain, Collins then squirted the contents of the bottle twice more. Victims described seeing 'steam' rise above them and an all pervasive chemical smell which made them choke.

Collins, who also sustained burn injuries from the acid used, stayed at the club for almost another hour until around 1.50am. He was captured on camera after the attack appearing to laugh and joke - as distressed club goers, who had fled the venue, were desperately seeking help at various hospitals.

A substance found at the scene was tested and identified as a concentrated pH1 acid solution. The pH scale runs from one to 14, with one being the most acidic. Although the actual nature of the liquid used was not possible to establish, pH1 is known to be the same strength as hydrochloric acid.

During the trial, the jury heard reference to a message Collins sent six days prior to the attack to his sister in which he warned: "Mind that little hand wash in my car acid."

However, Collins claimed in court that the message referred to a shampoo containing amino acid and coconut oil that he was worried about his nieces finding and biting it.

He said that he kept it in his car to hide the fact that he had a hair transplant from his girlfriend - now mother of his child.

Following the incident, detectives from Hackney CID launched an investigation and carried out extensive enquiries including reviewing CCTV footage. Collins was quickly identified as the prime suspect.

Collins was arrested at an address in Rushden, Northamptonshire on Saturday, 22 April, after evading attempts by officers to locate and detain him following a media appeal naming him as wanted by police. The next day he was also charged with multiple counts of wounding with intent.

He answered no comment to all questions put to them.

Hackney Borough commander, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Laurence, said: "Collins went to the nightclub that night with a bottle of a noxious substance with the intent to use it to inflict serious harm. He indiscriminately and recklessly sprayed the substance in a crowded place, knowing full well the danger this would pose to a large number of people. This was a barbaric and cowardly act.

"Furthermore, Collins stayed in the nightclub for an hour after the attack as police and emergency services arrived to tend to the victims, seemingly without a care for the 16 people against whom he had inflicted serious injuries upon.

"Collins, knowing he was wanted in connection with this offence and that the net was closing in on him, tried to evade officers but he was ultimately arrested and taken into custody. He now faces spending a significant length of time behind bars.

"I would personally like to thank the victims for their strength and bravery; in being forced by Collins to give evidence during the trial, they have had to re-live that night. I can only hope that their continuing strength will enable them to face the rest of their lives in a normal as possible way. I hope that at least they will take some solace from knowing that Collins will be going to prison."